September 1, 201412 yr So much for enjoying the win... Yeah I was going to come in here and say some good things about Patty Ice and the actual talent on the field with Stoops players compared to Jokers. But.....couldn't find the thread.
September 2, 201412 yr Bull crap, Joker was considered a step up because many thought he would build on the success that Brooks had at UK. Joker was at the time a highly thought of OC and recruiter, UK had a top 20 offense while he was the OC. Plus, being a former UK player and taking over a program that was on the rise was a reason for fans to be excited. There is nothing from his past coaching jobs that would have suggested he would have fallen on his face like he did, of course hindsight is 20/20. Going into their head coaching careers, there is no difference between James Franklin and Joker Phillips, unfortunately UK didn't hit the home run, but not you or anyone else could have predicted which one would have been the better choice. If you are/were able to have that kind of foresight you would not be on here posting about it. Going to three straight bowl games, no matter the size at UK is a big deal, trying to dismiss that is just an attempt to compare them to other top level SEC schools and not the rest of the SEC schools. Also, before Brooks trying to just make a bowl should have been the goal, short term yes, should we have upset or ticked off for making the Music City Bowl? NO! Gimme a break! I guess since it was not three straight SEC Championship games it was a failure. I have the post to prove me questioning the whole coach in waiting back then and saying it would be best for them to at least open it up. Especially with the position UK was in at the time. Brooks did a great job getting them to where they were at from what he had when he took over. Which I am a UK Alum and was pumped during that time, however you could also see during that last season UK started to hit the ceiling of their potential as a program. I truly believe UK was capable of taking another step forward. Will UK ever be a top dominant SEC year in and year out? NO. Can UK get higher than where they were and possible compete even more in the SEC? Yes. That is why I wanted them to open up the search. I am not saying they shouldn't have considered Joker. I said it back then they should have interviewed him too but also opened up and went with who was the best candidate at that time. Which if it was still him, then great! However as a program they owed it to try to get the best possible coach for the program and that may or may not have been him at that time. Just look at Stoops apparently he was a guy who wanted to come here during these low times. So imagine how attractive this job may have been during that time when Brooks retired. We may have gotten a guy from a smaller school with head coach experience and success working his way up, or may have gotten a top assistant from an established program with a vision on how to take the next step for this program. I hated the whole announcing the coach in waiting thing because it does limit your chances of getting the best guy for the job. UK was in a spot where they could have taken another step forward if they did hire the right guy. Which is why I wanted them to at least open up the search to better their chances of getting that right guy. Because as you just said no one can predict exactly how coach will do. However how can you better your chances of getting it right, if you don't even give yourself a true chance to get it right since they didn't open it up. I liked Joker and I did want to see him do well, however I love UK. So my love for UK wanted them to open just in case they did find someone who may have been better. If the best guy was still Joker after opening up then great and if it wasn't then that's fine too. I just wanted them to make sure they had the best guy at that time for the job which may or may not have been him.
September 2, 201412 yr Sure is a whole lotta Buzzkill people. Chill out. Good start by the young Wildcats. Now back to work and step up and face OU next Sat. Last Saturday was finally......FUN.
September 3, 201412 yr Sure is a whole lotta Buzzkill people. Chill out. Good start by the young Wildcats. Now back to work and step up and face OU next Sat. Last Saturday was finally......FUN. Very true!
September 3, 201412 yr This second chart shows the top 25 class ranks, with their respective recruiting expenses. School Class Rank* Recruiting Expense Alabama-Tuscaloosa 1 $980,882 Florida State 2 $433,236 Texas 3 $577,976 Georgia 5 $623,224 Louisiana State 6 $302,882 Auburn 7 $950,378 Clemson 8 $490,305 Oregon 9 $590,683 Ohio State 11 $320,938 Florida 12 $602,929 Tennessee 13 $1,135,211 Oklahoma 14 $356,414 Nebraska 15 $478,554 Berkeley 17 $394,298 South Carolina 18 $132,758 Mississippi 19 $495,233 Texas Tech 20 $611,910 Michigan 21 $577,663 Washington 23 $440,931 Arkansas 24 $666,419 Virginia 25 $276,806 If these numbers are correct, and if UK's budget is 500K, it would appear UK's recruiting budget is about middle of the pack, not dragging on the bottom. So UK's problem with football does not seem to be spending on recruiting. I would argue poor coaching hires - Curci, Curry (great guy, not so great coach), Hal Dumme and Joker along with a decades long reputation of being an under achiever. It is going to take time to recover from this. So far (cross your fingers) so far, UK looks to have a good coach and should this season end noticeably better than last year (a 2 wins season), UK NEEDS to give Stoops a nice extension to make him less appealing to other schools.
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